BREAKFAST WITH BARBIE CEREAL
Ralston
Watching her daughter
Barbara play with paper dolls and giving them adult roles, Ruth Handler
suggested making an adult-bodied doll to her husband, Elliot, who
co-founded the Mattel toy company with her.
He and the company’s directors saw no merit in the idea until 1956 when Ruth
brought back a Bild
Lilli doll from Germany. The doll was based on a popular comic strip
character that was initially sold to adults, but became popular with children
who enjoyed dressing her in a variety of outfits. That was what Ruth had in
mind for the doll she suggested. Ruth and engineer Jack Ryan
redesigned the doll, named it Barbie after her daughter, and
introduced it to the world at the American
International Toy Fair on March 9, 1959.
The doll became an
instant success, thanks largely in part to the television advertising campaign
never before utilized for that type of toy. A wide number of accessories were
made for the doll, ranging from clothing to habitats. The line was gradually
expanded to include a long-term boyfriend, Ken
(named after Ruth’s son), ethnically
diverse representation, younger
sisters, and dolls based on famous
people or fictional
characters. The most notable part of the doll, and part of her lasting
appeal, was the fact that Barbie was
depicted in a multitude
of occupations; many of which were progressive for their time. Since the
doll’s debut, the Barbie brand has
expanded to a multimedia franchise including video games, books and movies.
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Super Star, Dance Club, Beach Blast, Cool Times and the promo box. |
In 1989, to celebrate Barbie’s 30th anniversary, Ralston licensed the rights to produce a cereal based on the doll. Breakfast with Barbie Cereal was a fruity cereal in the shapes of hearts, bows, stars, cars and the letter “B” in yellow and a variety of pink colors. The box came in hot pink like the Barbie packaging and featured one of five different dolls throughout its lifespan: Super Star Barbie, Beach Blast Barbie, Dance Club Barbie, Cool Times Barbie and Happy Holidays Barbie. A sixth box also existed as the promotional box sent out to supermarkets featured Super Star Barbie holding an award against a different background. The marketing for the cereal included playing on the nostalgia of mothers who had a Barbie growing up and encouraging them to share that experience with their own daughters. To battle growing health concerns over sugary cereals, it was also marketed as having less sugar than leading competitors.
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Ad for the cereal with a coupon playing on nostalgia and health concerns. |
Although a doll
didn’t come packaged in the cereal (like they would in later cereal promotions),
Ralston was sure to incorporate some fun into their product. The back of the
Super Star box could be converted into a small vanity table by cutting out a
part of the back panel and taping a piece of tinfoil inside of it to act as a
mirror. The Beach Blast box came with a beach scene on the back with a
challenge to find objects hidden in it, as well as an offer for one of two Barbie books. The Dance Club box
featured instructions for how to do “The Barbie
dance” as well as a coupon for accessories for the doll. The Cool Times box
came with nail stickers inside and a coupon for the Barbie Soda Shoppe playset or her ’57 Chevy convertible.
The Happy Holidays box was the big one, being accompanied by a competition to
win a real diamond worth $4000. The winner was selected by finding a “Diamond
Dazzle Scope” inside (a distorted diamond-like clear plastic piece that could
be held by a simple cardboard tube and looked through) that was marked with
“WINNER”.
The “Breakfast with Barbie” name was later reused by Mattel
for an
actual doll: Barbie enjoying breakfast in a small cardboard nook in her
jammies. However, her cereal of choice was General Mills’ Honey Nut Cheerios.
It was released during the time of the “Got
Milk?” ad campaign.
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